Truck body



Oct. 2, 1951 E. L. WIEDMAN 2,569,965

TRUCK BODY Filed Feb. 1051947 s Sheets-Sheet 1 ramming-M,

Jmn ibr Wham E. L. WIEDMAN Oct. 2, 1951 TRUCK BODY 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 10, 1947 Oct. 2, 1951 E. L. WIEDMAN TRUCK BODY 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 10, 1947 Patented Oct. 2, 1 951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TRUCK BODY Edward L. Wiedman, Tonawanda, N. Y. Application February 10, 1947, Serial No. 727,716

3 Claims. (01. 295-28) This invention relates to a body for delivery "trucks, and more particularly to the type of truck .bodies used in trailers adapted to be attached to the rear bumper of a passenger automobile for delivery purposes.

One ofthe objects of my invention is to provide a body constructed of sheet-metal and formed in sections capable of being connected together by the purchaser or any inexperienced person, said sections when connected together .forming a rigid structure capable of being attached to any type of trailer-chassis, but more particularly to one allowing the body to be pivotally attached thereto so that it may be used as a dump body.

Another .object of my invention is to provide a cheap body which will withstand unusual Wear and which is so constructed that when attached "to an extensible trailer-chassis of the type illus- "trated and described in my co-pending application, Serial No. 727,717, filed February 10, 1947, and now Patent No. 2,525,506 granted October 10, 1950, the end boards or gates can be lowered and long lengths of lumber, pipes or other articles be conveniently transported therein.

With the above and other objects in view to appear hereinafter, this invention consists in the novel features of construction and in the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the subjoined claims. H Inthe drawings: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the trailer body pivotally attached between its ends to a trailerchassis.

. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the body.

Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on line 33, Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrow crossing said line.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section taken on line 1-4, Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrow crossing said line.

. of the body.

Fi 9 is a detached perspective view of one of the floor or bottom sections of the body. Fig. 1c is an enlarged section taken on line "lo-4o, Fig. 1.

Fig. 11 is a sectional detail view showingthe application of the tubular stakes.

In the main, the body comprises a bottom i I formed of a plurality of sections, in this instance three in number, designated by the numerals l2, [3, I4. I5 designates the sides and 1B the ends, and more particularly the end boards or gates. As clearly shown in Fig. 9, the bottom or floor sections are each constructed of a sheet of metal having its marginal portions bent downwardly, as at I1, and thence inwardly, as at It, to form L-shaped depending flanges. The sheets of metal are cut away at their four corners so that a miter joint I9 is provided at each corner,

.which is welded to maintain these flanges. in

rigid form.

The downwardly bent portions ll of the longitudinal L-shaped depending flanges, or vertical webs as they may be termed, are provided with bolt-slots 2!] through which bolts 2| are passed .for connecting the sections together and permithave such bolt-slots ositioned to be utilized in connectin the sides I5 to the bottom.

Each of the sides is formed of a single sheet of metal bent inwardlv at its lower end, as at 22, and thence upwardly, as at 23. These sides lie in contact with the inwardly-bent portions l8, or the horizontal webs as they may be termed, of the outer bottom sections and bolt 24 are passed through bo t-holes in the sides and through said bolt-slots to receive nuts that impinge against the inner side of the vertical webs H. The lower marginal portions of the sides 15, therefore. embrace the depending L-shaped flanges at the outer longitudinal edges of the outermost sections of the bottom and thus these sides are rigidly connected to the bottom by the bolts 24. In event of the bolts 24 becoming loose or lost, due to excessive strains applied to the bodyjthe upwardly bent portions 23 at the lower v marginal portions of the sides I5 prevent movement of the sides away from the bottom and in some instances loss of any loose material, such as grain, soil, etc, being transported.

gardless of the disposition of the sections of the bottom, an L-shaped depending flange will be at contiguous longitudinal edges of said sections and also at the outer longitudinal marginal portion of the bottom, and consequently the bottom ections I2, [3 and I4 may be selected at random and used interchangeably with assurance that the portions of the sides embracing the outermost L-shaped flanges of the bottom will exactly int loch, regardless ofthe bottom sections placedat thi sides of the bottom."

' The sides are co-extensive with the bottom of the body and are bent outwardly along their upper portions, as at 25, to form upwardly and outwardly flaring aprons, the upper marginal portion of the latter being bent at subSilflIlPiQn a right-angle thereto, as at 26, sedan-entailiwardly, as at 21, to form anf L shapjed .stiiIening flange along the upper edge of each side. At each end of each side the metal is "bent outwardly at a right-angle to form a stifiening or bra' wb "28" 'sgrauuauy widened do'wnwar dly or flare etter margina iporti "each is pro vided'with' 'an "LE-shaped h'tl-a gig to provide the stiffening or brace- 28 they meet the endsiof "the"fiafedfapron 225, at which the "parts' so forming" the are welded together."

15856? jjuij" latter." 1 These angle if ons artisato the trace-we s er the sides "I5 by iiiea'ns Dreamer thusrig'idly tying"the dyiflre t e an boards s 'ervr gto lose ,t heends oi the body. Each '61 .73 pp li ed to'the en'dsoi each of the assembled "which" lies against "the end edge'sm "said: se'c- [5 are provided with stake-openings 45, throng Tamii tt gfl ide "ticularly of advantage in 'carryi irons 3 at op'positeends of bodya' "I have designated by theniifnei al aglir' purpose I rm dewewarsl ,l flange l tend beyond the end edges of the gates and through the brackets 33. These pivot rods are preferably welded to the outer half portion of the lower edges of the gates so that when closing the latter, the lower edges of the gates will rest upon the upper edges of the vertical webs of angle-irons 3|. Thus arranged, the gates close against the front and rear edges of the bottom and against the webbed ends of the sides l5 and enablebu lk material such as sand, gravel and other" fine material to be transported with But the possibility of l6ssby seepage at the rear or front end'of the body. Moreover, by placing "the pivots forward of the centers of the lower edges of the gates, freedom in swinging movement of the latter is assured and a tighter con- "tac'tof thegat'e with the remainder of the body bokfidrmf'wherein fupstanding walls areprofvide'd atboth the sides and ends, also that either of th fgats' maybe lowered 'into' open position so that'material carried may extend forwardly from the body or rearwardly and that both gates may be lowered and material, such as lurriber,

-pipes and other long objects may be transported ivhi-le"itendirig bo'thforwardly' and rearwardly from th'e'body.

" '"I also provide means of tilting the ,body so that'it-inay be'used as a dump'body and'with this in lvie'wQa trailer-chassisconstructed in" acofdancwith my co-pending application Serial anges d sagree dete ejd'gs'pr 'thebottom'athe pie bolts"! Fare passed; huts AA-being" applied to s'aid" bolts so asto' hold the body" wot'any between the supporting arms '40. #I'o prevent Tal'so provide means for utilizing the body as a stake-body'Yo'r"theporpose of e a1i"yi n'g" 16ajds which extend above thuppr edges Q'f'th'siids and the end gates and with tl'iis iir v i'ewi lthe fl r ng aprdns at'the upper'eiids of thesides which stakesfid shown in dotted lines in F "l a h th' fir iowei en entered e o a d i' ar parla e nd 1" les. cigarieus k n srry nl lone and heav artiqles, I prefer Pine .numhfi 1 1.19 stake audi of the strain of'the load on'the" tingle- 0 nts a 'in th' fiaring' aprons 25' 'in line a lower ends thereof receive said pins, all as shown in detail in Fig. 11 and thus provide stakes well anchored at the bottom and near the top, and by reason of their tubular form and the manner of anchoring them can withstand any outward strain caused by the portion of the load above the sides of the body.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have produced a knock-down trailer body, the parts of which can be loosely assembled within a comparatively small space for shipment and when not in use for a prolonged period of time, space being unavailable, can be easily disassembled and stored in a small space.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A trailer body having a bottom formed in sections of equal length and extending from end to end of the body, each section being constructed of a sheet of metal having its marginal portions bent downwardly and inwardly to form L-shaped depending flanges, bolts passed through contiguous flanges of said sections to fasten said sections together, sides formed of sheet-metal having their lower portions bent inwardly and thence upwardly to embrace the L-shaped flanges at the outer longitudinal edges of said bottom, securing bolts passed through said sides along their lower ends and through said last-mentioned L-shaped flanges, the upper portion of each of said sides being flared upwardly and outwardly and the marginal upper portions of said flared portions being bent downwardly and inwardly at a rightangle, thence rebent to form L-shaped flanges, the ends of said sides having brace-webs formed by bending the metal at a right-angle and said brace-webs having their outer edges bent inwardly and thence rebent to form L-shaped flanges, an angle-iron at the rear end of said body having one web thereof lying in contact with the ends of said bottom sections and the other web extending underneath the L-shaped flanges at the rear ends of said bottom sections and underneath the brace-webs at the rear ends of said sides, bolts securing said angle-iron to the L- sha ed depending flanges at the rear ends of said bottom sections and to the lower end of said last-mentioned brace-webs, means for closing the forward end of the body, and a gate pivotally connected to said angle-iron for opening or closing the rear end of said body.

2. A trailer body comprising a sheet-metal bottom formed of sections having their marginal portions bent downwardly and thence inwardly to form L-shaped depending flanges at all edges thereof, said sections being arranged edge to edge and fastened together at contiguous edges, sides extending upwardly from the outer edge of said bottom, also formed of sheet-metal and having their lower edges bent inwardly and thence upwardly to embrace the depending L-shaped flanges at the outer edges of said bottom, fastening means passed through said sides and through said last-mentioned L-shaped flanges, said sides having their ends bent outwardly at a rightangle to form brace-webs, an angle-iron at each end of the bottom having one web thereof in contact with the adjacent ends of said bottom sections and with the lower ends of said bracewebs and its other web extending underneath said bottom sections and said brace-webs, securing means passed through said angle-iron and through the depending L-shaped flanges at said last-mentioned ends of said bottom sections and through said last-mentioned brace-webs, a pair of brackets secured to the angle-iron at each end of the body, and a gate at each end of said body formed of sheet-metal and having pivots passed through said brackets, said pivots being formed of rod material welded to the bottom edges of said gates.

3. A trailer body comprising a sheet metal bottom formed of sections having their marginal portions bent downwardly and thence inwardly to form L-shaped depending flanges at all edges thereof including the outer longitudinal edges of said bottom, said sections being arranged edge to edge and fastened together at contiguous edges, sides extending upwardly from the outer edge of said bottom formed of sheet-metal and having their lower edges bent inwardly and thence upwardly to embrace the depending L- shaped flanges at the outer longitudinal edges of said bottom under any disposition of the sections of said bottom, fastening means passed through said sides and through said last-mentioned L- shaped flanges, said sides having their ends bent outwardly at a right-angle to form brace-webs, a pair of brackets secured to and projecting from each end of said body, and a, gate at each end of said body having pivots passed through said brackets.

EDWARD L. WIEDMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 1 Name Date 146,150 Tenney Jan. 6, 1874 327,830 Skiles Oct. 6, 1885 405,777 Hill June 25, 1889 715,276 Laporte Dec. 9, 1902 1,264,651 Hubbard Apr. 30, 1918 1,328,137 Doud Jan. 13, 1920 1,425,596 Kramer Aug. 15, 1922' 1,461,905 Hughes July 1'7, 1923 1,503,710 Rice Aug. 5, 1924 1,884,333 Standish Oct. 25, 1932 1,896,254 Smith Feb. 7, 1933 1,908,457 Swift et a1 May 9', 1933 1,989,125 Atwell Jan. 29, 1935 2,204,697 Renno et al June 18, 1940 2,216,553 Greene et a1 Oct. 1, 1940 2,228,535 Renno Jan. 14, 1941 2,364,648 Olson Dec. 12, 1944 2,405,358 Johnson Aug. 6, 1946 2,502,093 Johnson Mar. 28, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 593,535 Germany of 1934 

